Riot Games accidentally leaked the four host cities for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship through an announcement video on YouTube. The video was initially posted on Nov. 20 at approximately 5pm CT, though it was swiftly made private minutes later. The hype video was still up long enough for fans to take note of the future Worlds venues.
Though the video was made private shortly after it launched, the description still remains on the lolesports page at the time of writing, confirming the four locations.
The four cities will include New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Mexico City. The international event will span North America from the group stage to the finals. This will be the first time Worlds has been hosted in North America since 2016. This will also be the first international League event to be set in Mexico.
Riot Games describes this Worlds 2022 event as “a robust continental tour” marking the return of Worlds to North America after a six-year hiatus. This will also be the first Worlds in two years to span multiple cities.
Whereas Worlds 2020 only took place in Shanghai, the latest World Championship was intended to be a five-city tour of China. For months, Worlds 2021 was meant to spread across Shanghai, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Shenzhen. Ultimately, the largest esports event of the year had to be moved to a singular venue once again, with the entire competition taking place in ReykjavÃk, Iceland.
It has not yet been confirmed if Worlds 2022 will feature a live audience or not. More information will likely be released following the official confirmation of the Worlds cities and as safety guidelines around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic evolve. For now, fans can enjoy this sneak peek into the next World Championship.
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